Fun idea from A blissful nest!
I'd add sliced olives as decorations, maybe red pepper, and maybe do baby carrots as the trunk. I serve it with a super yummy hummus dip! Look for this at our next holiday party...
Showing posts with label Holiday ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holiday ideas. Show all posts
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Thursday, November 26, 2015
stuffing (our faces)
It's a veryveryvery vegan Thanksgiving! This year, we stayed home and had a our Thanksgiving as our family of 5. We missed our friends who were traveling, but we'll get together over the Christmas Break.
Appetizer
Creamy tomato soup
Slightly modified:
24oz organic strained tomatoes (Bionaturae Organic brand)
1 1/2 cup organic veggie broth
1 cup organic raw cashews
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons organic dried basil
2 teaspoons dried minced garlic
1 - 2 organic bay leaf
Put everything but the cashews and 1/2 cup of the broth in a pan. Stir and heat. But the cashews and the 1/2 cup of the broth in the blender. Blend until smooth. Add to the soup after it's cooked for about 10-15 minutes.
Note: You can re-blend the soup (pull out the bay leaf before you do!) if you want the garlic to not be chunky or if your cashew cream clumps when you add it.
You can kind of see the soup in the picture below.
Green salad
Romaine
Tomato
Cucumber
Dressing of olive oil, dijon mustard, honey, balsamic vinegar, garlic. We never measure.
Home made Tofu-Turkey
We made our own turkey! I found that recipe and it sounded interesting. (Tia totally wanted to make a home made Tofu-Turkey or have some sort of "turkey.")
It totally broke--like people discussed in the comments on that other site. (And I almost dropped it when I was pulling it out of the oven, but I caught it! It was a precarious few seconds that felt like minutes.) Oh, well. It was very (veryvery) tasty!
Note, make 2xs the marinade.
We only used 4 tubs of tofus... (we got sprouted, and I was worried, but it came out okay.) We followed the directions on that other site. It was worth making and I'd make it again, but I might think about the way I put it together... A square pan? I don't know... Maybe I'll try it again as the recipe suggests. I'll let you know.
Tofu turkey on left, dressing on right.
Stuffing
3 baguettes diced into cubes the night before then toasted in the oven for a few moments (well, some were toasted longer 'cause we forgot they were in the oven and we preheated the oven for pies--oops. All is well that ends well. The glass container they were stored in didn't break, and thank goodness they weren't in something plastic!)
1 cup (use more next year--1.5-2 cups) celery
1 medium onion (again, use more)
2 teaspoons (?) sage
1/2 bag (4 ounces) dried cranberries
1/2 cup pecans broken up
4-5 cups of broth
(I didn't measure, and I liked the way it came out. Hopefully, I can recreate it.)
Brussel Sprouts
I found this recipe and since I've been on a Sriracha kick lately, I knew I had to make it! (Everything about this recipe is the same as the original site. I just put it here in case the web site goes away or something. They get full credit!)
Mashed Potatoes
(From Forks over Knives, see link above for a picture on our site and then a link to their site.)
Gravy
Pumpkin Pie
I made my usual pie.
2 packages of 3/4 pound silken (soft) tofu
2 15 ounce cans pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2/3s - 1 cup brown sugar (we always go less sweet) (could be maple syrup)
This makes enough for 2 pies. We always do one with crust and one with just chocolate chips (in the red silicone pan). Soy whipped cream on top for the vegans!
The girls were awesome helpers and even took the lead cooking. Kira made the soup and salad dressing, they all cut brussel sprouts, Tia made the salad and had the idea that we make a homemade "turkey," Natalie made the gravy, and best of all they helped in whatever way I asked! I couldn't have done it without them! Nick was super helpful, too. He helped keep things running smoothly and the kitchen clean!
(I have no idea why my pictures of the food are so fuzzy looking, but I'm guessing I had something on the lens of the camera. I wiped it off before I took the pictures of the pies so they are more clear.)
Appetizer
Creamy tomato soup
Slightly modified:
24oz organic strained tomatoes (Bionaturae Organic brand)
1 1/2 cup organic veggie broth
1 cup organic raw cashews
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons organic dried basil
2 teaspoons dried minced garlic
1 - 2 organic bay leaf
Put everything but the cashews and 1/2 cup of the broth in a pan. Stir and heat. But the cashews and the 1/2 cup of the broth in the blender. Blend until smooth. Add to the soup after it's cooked for about 10-15 minutes.
Note: You can re-blend the soup (pull out the bay leaf before you do!) if you want the garlic to not be chunky or if your cashew cream clumps when you add it.
You can kind of see the soup in the picture below.
Green salad
Romaine
Tomato
Cucumber
Dressing of olive oil, dijon mustard, honey, balsamic vinegar, garlic. We never measure.
Home made Tofu-Turkey
We made our own turkey! I found that recipe and it sounded interesting. (Tia totally wanted to make a home made Tofu-Turkey or have some sort of "turkey.")
It totally broke--like people discussed in the comments on that other site. (And I almost dropped it when I was pulling it out of the oven, but I caught it! It was a precarious few seconds that felt like minutes.) Oh, well. It was very (veryvery) tasty!
Note, make 2xs the marinade.
We only used 4 tubs of tofus... (we got sprouted, and I was worried, but it came out okay.) We followed the directions on that other site. It was worth making and I'd make it again, but I might think about the way I put it together... A square pan? I don't know... Maybe I'll try it again as the recipe suggests. I'll let you know.
Tofu turkey on left, dressing on right.
Stuffing
3 baguettes diced into cubes the night before then toasted in the oven for a few moments (well, some were toasted longer 'cause we forgot they were in the oven and we preheated the oven for pies--oops. All is well that ends well. The glass container they were stored in didn't break, and thank goodness they weren't in something plastic!)
1 cup (use more next year--1.5-2 cups) celery
1 medium onion (again, use more)
2 teaspoons (?) sage
1/2 bag (4 ounces) dried cranberries
1/2 cup pecans broken up
4-5 cups of broth
(I didn't measure, and I liked the way it came out. Hopefully, I can recreate it.)
Brussel Sprouts
I found this recipe and since I've been on a Sriracha kick lately, I knew I had to make it! (Everything about this recipe is the same as the original site. I just put it here in case the web site goes away or something. They get full credit!)
1½ pounds brussels sprouts
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup rice-wine vinegar
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons Sriracha, or more to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup rice-wine vinegar
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons Sriracha, or more to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Trim the base away from the brussels sprouts and discard. Cut the sprouts in half.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil with the vinegar, honey and Sriracha to combine. Add the brussels sprouts and toss until they are fully coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Spread the brussels sprouts on a baking sheet, cut sides down. Pour any extra olive-oil mixture onto the pan and tilt the pan around to distribute it.
4. Roast until the sprouts are crispy on the outside and golden and caramelized on the cut sides, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil with the vinegar, honey and Sriracha to combine. Add the brussels sprouts and toss until they are fully coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Spread the brussels sprouts on a baking sheet, cut sides down. Pour any extra olive-oil mixture onto the pan and tilt the pan around to distribute it.
4. Roast until the sprouts are crispy on the outside and golden and caramelized on the cut sides, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
Mashed Potatoes
(From Forks over Knives, see link above for a picture on our site and then a link to their site.)
Gravy
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- ¼ cup garbanzo bean flour
- freshly ground black pepper
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- 2 large Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 bag of cauliflower
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup of cashew cream
- dash of unsweetened, unflavored plant milk
- freshly ground pepper
- Dash of sea salt
Pumpkin Pie
I made my usual pie.
2 packages of 3/4 pound silken (soft) tofu
2 15 ounce cans pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2/3s - 1 cup brown sugar (we always go less sweet) (could be maple syrup)
This makes enough for 2 pies. We always do one with crust and one with just chocolate chips (in the red silicone pan). Soy whipped cream on top for the vegans!
The girls were awesome helpers and even took the lead cooking. Kira made the soup and salad dressing, they all cut brussel sprouts, Tia made the salad and had the idea that we make a homemade "turkey," Natalie made the gravy, and best of all they helped in whatever way I asked! I couldn't have done it without them! Nick was super helpful, too. He helped keep things running smoothly and the kitchen clean!
(I have no idea why my pictures of the food are so fuzzy looking, but I'm guessing I had something on the lens of the camera. I wiped it off before I took the pictures of the pies so they are more clear.)
Friday, November 28, 2014
Vegan Thanksgiving
We celebrated at home with just us. I made:
Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Yukon gold potatoes (4)
Garlic (2-3 cloves)
Cashew Cream (about 1/3 of a cup)
Salt
Pepper
A little soy milk
A little earth balance
(I could probably make runnier cashew cream and omit the soy if I wanted to.)
I had never MADE mashed potatoes before so I just LEARNED that you need to make them RIGHT before eating so they are nice and hot. I had to heat them up in the microwave. They were still yummy.
Creamy Cauliflower Soup
(I made it with Cashew Cream)
A big green salad
Romaine
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Red Pepper Spread (with Sourdough)
Pumpkin Pie
I made the filling from this recipe and just used a store bought vegan crust for one of the pies and plain chocolate chips as the crust for the other recipe (it falls apart, but it is YUMMY!). (The crustless pie is topped with Rice Whip.)
What a yummy day! We'll do another celebration with friends on Saturday.
Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Yukon gold potatoes (4)
Garlic (2-3 cloves)
Cashew Cream (about 1/3 of a cup)
Salt
Pepper
A little soy milk
A little earth balance
(I could probably make runnier cashew cream and omit the soy if I wanted to.)
I had never MADE mashed potatoes before so I just LEARNED that you need to make them RIGHT before eating so they are nice and hot. I had to heat them up in the microwave. They were still yummy.
Creamy Cauliflower Soup
(I made it with Cashew Cream)
A big green salad
Romaine
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Red Pepper Spread (with Sourdough)
Pumpkin Pie
I made the filling from this recipe and just used a store bought vegan crust for one of the pies and plain chocolate chips as the crust for the other recipe (it falls apart, but it is YUMMY!). (The crustless pie is topped with Rice Whip.)
What a yummy day! We'll do another celebration with friends on Saturday.
Friday, January 31, 2014
A new holiday tradition
For Thanksgiving, I made this delicious bad boy! (Yea, I realize it's almost February and I'm just getting around to telling you about it.)
My pictures aren't as good as the pictures on that (linked) web site, but I was so proud of my first ever, "rolled cake." I thought it would be harder than it was. The hardest part was figuring out what a jelly roll pan was. I put my silicone liner on it and baked and it worked well!
After it cooled the prescribed amount of time, I frosted one side and rolled it up. Don't be shy with the frosting!
I then slathered it all up.
Here's the recipe copy and pasted from the other site. (They get full credit; I just like to put the recipe here for safe-keeping.)
Dry Ingedients
1 1/2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour (Can use 1/2 unbleached white flour and 1/2
whole wheat pastry flour for a slightly lighter cake)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves (optional)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon allspice (optional)
1 1/2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour (Can use 1/2 unbleached white flour and 1/2
whole wheat pastry flour for a slightly lighter cake)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves (optional)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon allspice (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Wet Ingredients
1 tablespoon of flax seeds
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh, drain off liquid if using fresh)
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
2/3 Maple syrup
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of flax seeds
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh, drain off liquid if using fresh)
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
2/3 Maple syrup
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut parchment paper or use a silicone pan liner to fit a 9 x 12 inch jelly roll pan.
2. In a large bowl sift the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
3. Put the wet ingredients into a blender and blend completely.
4. Gently pour the liquid mixture in to the dry mixture and stir.
5. Pour and spread the batter into the prepared jelly roll pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes, check after 10 minutes, cake should be just firm with a little spring. Remove from oven and cool for 2-3 minutes.
6.Roll the cake with the parchment paper inside the cake and place seam side down to cool. (I did this with my silicone liner and it was fine to use!)
7. Prepare the filling and when the cake is completely cooled, gently unroll the cake being careful not to break or crack it and spread with filling on the inside.
8. Sprinkle half of the Cinnamon Walnut mixture inside the cake on the filling. (I left this out 'cause some little girls aren't into nuts.)
9. Roll the cake back up again without the parchment paper, wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
10. Frost with remaining filling and sprinkle with the cinnamon nut mixture.
Makes about 10-15 servings.
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut parchment paper or use a silicone pan liner to fit a 9 x 12 inch jelly roll pan.
2. In a large bowl sift the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
3. Put the wet ingredients into a blender and blend completely.
4. Gently pour the liquid mixture in to the dry mixture and stir.
5. Pour and spread the batter into the prepared jelly roll pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes, check after 10 minutes, cake should be just firm with a little spring. Remove from oven and cool for 2-3 minutes.
6.Roll the cake with the parchment paper inside the cake and place seam side down to cool. (I did this with my silicone liner and it was fine to use!)
7. Prepare the filling and when the cake is completely cooled, gently unroll the cake being careful not to break or crack it and spread with filling on the inside.
8. Sprinkle half of the Cinnamon Walnut mixture inside the cake on the filling. (I left this out 'cause some little girls aren't into nuts.)
9. Roll the cake back up again without the parchment paper, wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
10. Frost with remaining filling and sprinkle with the cinnamon nut mixture.
Makes about 10-15 servings.
Tofu-Cashew Frosting
2 12.3 oz packages extra-firm silken tofu – drained and pressed dry.
1/2 cup raw cashew pieces
1/3 cup light grade A maple syrup
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 12.3 oz packages extra-firm silken tofu – drained and pressed dry.
1/2 cup raw cashew pieces
1/3 cup light grade A maple syrup
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1. Put all ingredients into a food processor.
2. Puree ingredients in a food processor until very smooth.
3. Refrigerate while you make the cake. Check the frosting when you take
the cake out of the oven. If it is too firm to spread, leave it at room
temperature while the cake cools. Refrigerate the frosted cake.
2. Puree ingredients in a food processor until very smooth.
3. Refrigerate while you make the cake. Check the frosting when you take
the cake out of the oven. If it is too firm to spread, leave it at room
temperature while the cake cools. Refrigerate the frosted cake.
Cinnamon Walnut Topping and Filling
1 cup of chopped walnuts
1/2 cup of sucanat (dried cane juice) (Can use brown sugar)
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup of chopped walnuts
1/2 cup of sucanat (dried cane juice) (Can use brown sugar)
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Mix ingredients together and sprinkle on the frosted cake
All Cashew Frosting
2 cups raw cashew pieces
1/2 cup pitted dates
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
My notes:2 cups raw cashew pieces
1/2 cup pitted dates
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
I used the tofu frosting, but next time, I'll use the all cashew frosting.
What the original site doesn't tell you is to make it in advance! The cake gets more moist from the frosting and is softer and more delicious after at least 8 hours in the refrigerator. The one I let sit in the fridge overnight was HEAVENLY. I might need to make this again soon!
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Thanksgiving review
We had friends over (vegan friends) and we had a lot of good food. Technically, on Thanksgiving, my brother and I made eggplant and red sauce (I'll share more soon about it) and then, on Friday, we did our Thanksgiving day feast. Here's what we had...
Lentil torte
Festive Chickpea Tart
Pumkin Kadu
Tofu Satay
Big Green Salad
Carrot Soup
Hummus
Berries
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Cake Roll (I'll post details about this!)
Mashed Potatoes
Homemade cranberry sauce (excellent with the festive chickpea tart)!
I didn't get a picture of the feast, but maybe my friend did! I still feel full! I'll post more about everything soon.
Lentil torte
Festive Chickpea Tart
Pumkin Kadu
Tofu Satay
Big Green Salad
Carrot Soup
Hummus
Berries
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Cake Roll (I'll post details about this!)
Mashed Potatoes
Homemade cranberry sauce (excellent with the festive chickpea tart)!
I didn't get a picture of the feast, but maybe my friend did! I still feel full! I'll post more about everything soon.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Holiday ideas for Christmas and Easter
From http://nestingcorral.blogspot.com/2012/04/easy-easter-appetizer.html
(Note, I would make this with white bean dip so that it could be vegan. so cute!)
From http://pinterest.com/pin/277745501991559005/
Nat was wondering if we could use kiwi for the tree... I don't see why not. We'll play around with the idea and see what happens. Also, I think it would be nice to have a bowl of melted chocolate for dipping.
Full credit goes to the creative folks who came up with the ideas. I did not come up with the ideas, and I didn't photograph the cuteness. I only put the pictures here so that I can find them easily in the future--you never know if something is gonna disappear on the Internet.
From http://pinterest.com/pin/277745501991559005/
Full credit goes to the creative folks who came up with the ideas. I did not come up with the ideas, and I didn't photograph the cuteness. I only put the pictures here so that I can find them easily in the future--you never know if something is gonna disappear on the Internet.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Bark
This was our adventure last night. Note, this is really not healthy in any way, but it is vegan.
Kira, Natalie, and I made this last night. I like Peppermint bark, but I can do without the white chocolate, and I wanted to make sure we had a vegan version so we crushed candy canes and melted dark chocolate chips.
We learned that despite the fact that candy canes break easily when you don't want them to break, they are HARD to crush into little bits. Next time, we're going to stick them in my very powerful VitaMix blender.
I didn't measure. We crushed about 12 or so largish candy canes and melted ~8-10 ounces of chocolate chips. We mixed the two ingredients together, spread thin on waxed paper, and refrigerated. (I had more of both ingredients on hand if the ratio didn't look right, but really, you can't go wrong with peppermint candy and chocolate.) When it was cool, we broke it up into smaller pieces. YUM!
We learned that despite the fact that candy canes break easily when you don't want them to break, they are HARD to crush into little bits. Next time, we're going to stick them in my very powerful VitaMix blender.
I didn't measure. We crushed about 12 or so largish candy canes and melted ~8-10 ounces of chocolate chips. We mixed the two ingredients together, spread thin on waxed paper, and refrigerated. (I had more of both ingredients on hand if the ratio didn't look right, but really, you can't go wrong with peppermint candy and chocolate.) When it was cool, we broke it up into smaller pieces. YUM!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
super cute Thanksgiving idea!
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